The Twelve Days of Christmas
by Estrelle Buscador
Summary: Arthur wants to be romantic for his Christmas present to Gwen. Even thousands of years after Camlann, Merlin still gets hauled in for the ride. Collection of drabbles for the 12 Days of Christmas song.
1. A Partridge in a Pear Tree

Greetings Readers! Here is a collection I wrote for my holiday partner at the Heart of Camelot website, MildeAmasoj. I hope that she enjoys it, and that you do too! There will be one drabble for each part of the twelve days of Christmas song. Happy holidays!

Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin, or any of its characters. I also do not own the song, "The Twelve Days of Christmas."

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_On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, A partridge in a pear tree._

xxx

Merlin promised himself, as he found himself hanging upside down in the tree, that he'd let Arthur find his own present next time.

He snorted at the thought as soon as it entered his mind. He hadn't been able to keep from helping Arthur back in Camelot, and the impulse hadn't shown any sign of going away since Arthur had emerged from the Lake of Avalon years before.

Swallowing back the lump in his throat at the memory of watching his friend return after millennia of waiting, Merlin focused on the situation at hand as the blood rushed to his head. He was glad the clotpole was back, but if he could keep from being dragged along on the more ridiculous quests, that would be nice.

"This is your bloody fault, Merlin," Arthur grumbled, which was hardly helpful.

"How is this my fault?" Merlin choked back, his woolen scarf blowing against his mouth and nose.

Arthur attempted to cross his arms, although it nearly dislodged him from the snowy branches. "This was all your idea."

"No," Merlin shook his head, groaning at the feelings of dizziness, "I distinctly remember saying, 'No Arthur, Gwen doesn't need you to give her gifts patterned after the Twelve Days of Christmas. She knows you're rubbish at showy things, and prefers simple things. We don't need to go questing – this is the bloody twenty-first century.'"

"You were the one that brought up the song in the first place!"

"Yes, as something extreme that you didn't have to do! But you take everything as a challenge-" Merlin tentatively reached up one hand to rub the headache between his eyes. "Never mind."

"If you'd just tied up the pheasant like I told you-"

"What would Gwen do with a live pheasant anyway?"

"You expected me to hang a dead lump of pheasant in a tree like an ornament?"

Merlin watched his hat fall to the ground below. "No, I expected you to buy a pear-cut diamond ring or something – you know, close to the words but not –"

Arthur slapped his hand to his forehead. "I knew I forgot about something – Merlin, after this we have to find –"

"Don't say the word tree to me ever again."

Tossing a icy pinecone at his friend, Arthur craned his head toward the top of the tree. "How much higher do you think he flew?"

"Higher than I want to climb," Merlin replied dryly, "Do you even see the partridge in the tree?"

"No, but I see two turkeys."

Merlin looked down and Arthur covered his face. "Hey Gwaine."

Gwaine smirked up at them from the bottom of the tree, crunching casually at his apple. "Need me to call the fire department, turkeys?"

"We are not -" A branchful of snow fell onto Arthur's face. "Just make the bloody call, Gwaine."

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A/N: Those two. :D

I hope you enjoyed it!

Thanks for reading and please review! They make me happy! (And if you decided to read and review some of MildeAmasoj's work, that would also be AWESOME!)


	2. Two Turtle Doves

Greetings Readers! Here's the second day of Arthur's Twelve Days of presents. I hope you enjoy!

This is for MildeAmasoj! You should check out her writing as well!

Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin, or any of its characters. I also do not own the "Twelve Days of Christmas" song. There is also a reference to another well-known universe in here - don't own that either. :)

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_On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me,  
Two turtledoves and a partridge in a pear tree._

xxx

"You know," Merlin said conversationally, waving one hand in a nonverbal spell, "some men just give their girlfriends chocolate."

"What are you going on about, Merlin?" Arthur replied, his eyes skimming the four corners of the living room ceiling.

Merlin cast a quick glance around, and strengthened the spell for good measure – the air above his head began to glow faintly. Arthur, in his single-minded focus, didn't notice. "I'm just saying that Gwen also likes chocolate. Chocolate might have been a good thing to give her."

Arthur rubbed his sore neck, and stepped gingerly around the overturned armchair. "I'm not sure I want to know how you jumped from turtle doves to chocolate, Merlin."

"You ever hear of chocolate turtles?" Merlin replied, grinning cheekily, "delicious, full of things Gwen loves, and they don't escape and hide in people's living rooms."

"Turtle doves," Arthur replied, puffing out his chest, "are symbols of fidelity and love. Chocolate just can't compare." He cut his eyes across to his friend and smirked. "Besides, didn't I hear something about you losing a whole crate of frog-shaped chocolates back in-"

"I was drunk and cannot be blamed for that!" Merlin countered, his ears burning. "Besides, at least they didn't leave droppings everywhere."

The two of them looked at the suspicious white smears on Gwen's normally pristine living room carpet and winced. Sneaking in to her apartment while she was teaching to leave Arthur's present had seemed a good idea earlier, but that was before they had overturned her furniture and caused an enormous mess.

Actually, Merlin had never thought it was a good idea, but Arthur never listened.

"But," Arthur sighed, "fine. It's just – I want to get her something good, you know? I can't go around slaying monsters or beasts to show her I love her, like I used to."

Merlin walked beside his king and put a hand on his shoulder. "She doesn't care about that thing, Arthur. She never did. She loves you whether you're killing monsters or not. Besides, Gwen was more for small displays anyway."

The two of them sat down on unstained patches of carpet. "What are you talking about?"

"Remember when you got enchanted?" Merlin began, then smirked. "The second time?"

Arthur rolled his eyes. "Shut up, Merlin. I can't help it so many women found me that attractive."

"Right," Merlin snickered, "anyway, you made me get a huge bouquet and write something 'from the heart' and I gave it to her. That didn't mean nearly as much as that one rose and honest words you gave her later. She doesn't need fancy, she needs you."

Arthur swallowed suspiciously. "It could be your writing was ridiculous."

"Hey!" Merlin replied, "I am an excellent writer – I helped Shakespeare sound out his sonnets. I know words that can-"

A key was heard turning in the door, and both men shot to their feet.

"Merlin…" Arthur's voice was thinly veiled panic.

Merlin responded by snapping his fingers. The furniture immediately responded and righted itself, and the stains in the carpet vanished without a trace.

The former king exhaled with relief. "Thanks."

"I'll get those chocolates now, shall I?" Merlin grinned.

Arthur nodded, and Merlin vanished with another snap.

As Gwen's steps grew closer, Arthur frowned. "Wait, Merlin, what about the turtle-"

The only response was a sickening splat on his ear.

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A/N: I love writing the interactions between these two. I hope you enjoyed it!

Thanks for reading, and please review! They make me happy!


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